Happy Friday, friends! It’s been a hot second since I’ve had time to post! I was sick last Thurs – Saturday (Well, still am, but that was the worst of it), so I missed my usual Friday post, and then Tuesday was my birthday and I decided to go out and enjoy it rather than rushing to finish my Show Us Your Books post for the monthly link-up that day.

Thankfully, thankfully, work is slowing down a little bit now until about March, so I should have a little more time for like, life. I’ve been wanting to write a catching up post for over a month, but still haven’t found a decent chunk of time. Soon!

 

 

1. As I mentioned above, Tuesday was my birthday. I still wasn’t feeling great so instead of big plans I kept it very simple. I had a chiropractor appointment that morning (I’d call myself an old lady but I’ve seen a chiropractor on and off since I was 16!), then went to pick up my free b-day beverage from Starbucks. I usually get a venti latte (gingrebread or pumpkin spice) since December is cold, but Tuesday was in the 50s and my sore throat wanted something icy, so I ordered the glorious vat of caffeine and sugar pictured above. (Venti cafe vanilla Frappuccino). I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a venti Frappuccino in my LIFE, but hey, if it’s free? Might as well go big!

After picking up my drink I went for a short walk by the lake at the Branson Landing to soak up some sunshine, then headed to Moe’s for my free birthday burrito. I was worried I wouldn’t really enjoy it since I’ve been so congested, but it was still 100% delicious.

My short outing totally drained my still sick self, so I headed home post-burrito and curled up in bed to read for most of the rest of the evening. I know how to party! Hopefully next year will be more exciting, but this year ended up being just right for how I was feeling.

 

2. I spotted these leggings at Target and am torn over buying them. I mean, cats AND llamas? Sign me up! And they’re fleece lined,which I loooove. But I’m very poor right now (see mention of work slowing WAY down for winter) and need to watch my budget. And if I wait a couple of weeks, there’s a solid chance that I can get them on clearance. What’s a gal to do?? (They’re available online here if you love them, too!)

 

3. I was just leaving for work a couple of weeks ago and thought I forgot my car keys, and as I headed back into the house to get them I found my dryer emitting a bunch of smoke. I was in such a hurry that I just shut it off and did a quick check that the smoke stopped when I did so (probably not the safest thing in retrospect?) and then asked the maintenance guy at work what to do. Between a crazy work schedule, being sick for over a week, and recently finding out that it might still be under warranty, I still haven’t fixed it, but I did discover that Sears has really, REALLY helpful repair manuals for most major appliances online here!  I really love feeling empowered to fix things myself, so finding those made me really happy. As a side note, this whole debacle taught me that nut drivers are a thing. Like a screwdriver, but for nuts! WHO KNEW? NOT I! I went and bought the size my dryer was supposed to need to take the back off and investigate the source of the smoke, but it’s somehow too big? Fingers crossed that I figure the whole thing out soon, because I’m running out of clean clothes and do not want to spend hours of my nonexistant free time in a laundromat.

I also recenty learned how easy it is to replace the tub faucet in my guest bathroom so that I can start showering in there (the little pull-thing that switches it from bath to shower is broken) and stop worrying about falling through the floor in my master bathroom. (There’s water damage under the shower. I’ve probably written about it here? Long story.)

Related: I can not wait until I can RENT again and maintenance issues become someone else’s problem. I will click that “pay rent” button with such happiness and relief every single month. This house has broken me.

 

I’m going to have to cut this week’s list short at 3 things. Fingers crossed I’ll be over this funky cough ASAP and be able to get back to actually posting.

Have a great weekend!